Crescent Elites
''The Crescent Elites ''are a newly built Imperial Guard Regiment, constituted to act as the "front line intelligence operatives" for the Imperium of Man. Actually a unit hidden from most of their brothers and sisters, The Crescent Elites act as covert operatives embedded on Imperial territory. They usually prefer to stand back and let the Space Marines do the work. However, should they be forced to fight, they are known to impress even some Chapter Masters. The Imperium uses them as intelligence operatives, so they do not posses the traditional equipment of their brothers and sisters. They use light armor, classic bolters, sniper rifles and "hard hitting guns like heavy Stubbers" (should they enter a conflict). They deploy in the form of a crescent to flank and ,should the chance present itself, to surround the enemy from all sides. Charges of Heresy The Crescent Elites are believed to be one of the most loyal servants of the Emperor of Mankind. However, some accounts state that they do not believe the Emperor of Mankind is a god. In fact, some "anonymous tips" suggest that The Crescent Elites only revere him as a great hero, but are rumored to refuse his ascension to godhood and believe a religion that was destroyed by the Emperor of Mankind right before the start of the Great Crusade. That's why they were accused with heresy "twice" and the Inquisition dispatched forces to investigate. However, none of these "anonymous tips" had concrete evidence to support them so, at the moment, they are cleared from all these charges and continue to serve the Imperium of Man with honor. The Redemption And Organization The Crescent Elites are divided into 20 person groups called "Bolter Shells". There are presumed to be around 100 of these shells, each having a different mission. Each members of these bolter shells are choosen randomly, however Acting Commander Lune states that they put different personalities together to incrase close cooperation and teamwork. After various trainings, tests, exams and missions with their "supervisors", those shells that pass and acquire more than a "required score" go through their Redemptions and get deployed into the planet of their objective. The Redemption is the final process, "the final restriction within a human's mind.". Each Redemption is uniqe and thus, completely flexible. But it is said that this test starts with drinking a vial and then, what happens is completely special to that person. If someone fails his/her Redemption (which happens very rarely), the one who fails is granted a quick death because of a side effect the liquid the vial holds. Moreover, the remaining soldiers in the entire shell is decomissioned, dispersed and mixed with the next upcoming shells. After their Redemption, these men and women are rumored to lose interest in all humanly desires, personal wishes and mortal pleasures. They commit themselves to The Imperium and The Emperor only. However, they do not get separated from all the living world and turn into soulless machines. Their ability to think freely and sense of honor, along with many other feelings, are preserved and ,even on some rare occasions, get enhanced. Training Recent studies indicate that The Crescent Elites are actually chosen and start getting trained from birth, not conscripted. They do not have the gene improvements like Space Marines do (obviously), but it is suspected that their training is led by an unknown faction of Space Marines, possibly descending from a loyalist unit (not enough to call a chapter) of Alpha Legion that might have survived. The most important fact about them is that they are always chosen from people living on Holy Terra, no matter the background of their families or the influence they posses. There are a lot of rumors about their training, but the way they fight and act proves one thing: Their training is brutal. However, the result of their training bears fruit, for they posses the ability to fight on any terrain, be it a cold wasteland or a harsh mountain world. The Crescent Formation is also considered one of the most efficient strategies existing in our timeline, but it has to be executed at the right moment and requires perfectly disciplined units to do so. That's why they are the only Imperial Guard regiment that can execute it as it should be. Strategies The Crescent Elites excel at cunning operations and wars of attrition. That is why they are rarely seen in war zones. The Dark Crusade proves their supremacy in stealth as they were the agents that helped the Imperial guard establish a foothold on the planet, and ultimately, the establishment of Victory Bay. They also use the heavy armor of their enemies against them, pinning them down on one spot and taking them out before they move. Some civilians who saw the way they fight, described them as "Sun rays descending to disband the dark clouds over our heads." Chain of Command Even though a mysterious arm of The Imperium, Commander Lune Crackham is the "Acting Leader" of The Crescent Elites who is known for answering directly and only to Senatorum Imperialis. He is also known to "test" the Adeptus Custodes''' '''in the Imperial Palace and he always tells the Senatorum Imperialis that they are "Like Peasants that can't even stand straight." which was proven 10 millenia ago in Horus Heresy. Apart from him, nearly nothing is known about their leadership. There are rumors that they are actually commanded by a "council" that chooses a leader every 4 years. An acting leader is, like an ambassador rather than a commander. However, some sources think that their "council" actually chooses 2 leaders, one to appear on the front lines, and the other to stay behind and plan how the troops will fight.